Saturday, January 31, 2009

Michigan State Recap: Hi Goran...

Sparty was just too American for the Hawks

It was a butt kicking. An absolute clinic. Something Sam Elliott might call a 'tail-whippin.'

This game was essentially over before it started. The Spartans were quicker, smoother and stronger. They were better in all facets of the game. You know the expression, "the game was closer than the final scored indicated." That wasn't this game. It was the exact opposite. The Hawks lost by 15, but it should have been way more. Tom Izzo called off the Spartans about halfway through the 2nd half.

Rarely any Hawks stood out. The President reverted back to his old human form, scoring only one point in 14 minutes. 6'5 Matt Gatens, arguably Iowa's best player as a freshman, was so desperate in trying to box out a rangy 6'8 Roe, he turned around and started pushing Roe like Gatens was an offensive lineman.

The 3-point shot, a staple of Todd Lickliter's system, was not kind to the Hawks. They shot a measly 30.8% on 8-26 shooting. Meanwhile, the Spartans shot 55.6% from behind the arc.

Granted, Tom Izzo's Spartans are the cream of the crop in the Big 10. No one expected the Hawkeyes to win, but they are expected to compete. The Hawks sit at 10th, only besting the worst Indiana team in...forever.

It's a shame that the team failed to compete this particular game. The marketing department finally upped the ante by focusing on getting the students back into Carver-Hawkeye. They let all students in for free, the handed out pizza for the first 200 students in and they rewarded student season ticket holders with lower seats. This marketing department needs to continue to show this type of creativity. Even when the Hawks would make mini-runs during the game, cutting the deficit to single digits, the students energized the rest of Carver. The real question is this: will the students come back after the Hawks got thoroughly dominated in the most hyped game of the season?

The students need to be moved. They're crammed up some of the worst seats in the house, squarely behind the basket. And something has to be changed.